The gangsters — associates of the INLA and dissident republicans operating along the Border — issued the threats over fears that their contact details had been stored in the phones of teenagers seized by investigators.

In a direct plea from the altar, Fr Murtagh urged anyone with possible information on the crime to come forward.

He said: “Cameron’s death raises some difficult questions and I do not want to avoid them today. I would ask and appeal to our young people particularly to reflect very thoughtfully on what has happened and to try and learn some lessons from it.”